Target excitation dependence of the entropy index in 350 GeV/c π−–AgBr collisions

Abstract

In this paper a detailed study on the erratic behaviour of multiparticle production in π−–AgBr interactions at 350 GeV has been performed with the help of the parameter ‘entropy index’ μq, which is a measure of chaotic behaviour in multipion production processes. This index describes the event-to-event fluctuation of factorial moments which measures the spatial fluctuation of multiplicity distribution. The analysis reveals a large value for the entropy index, signifying the chaotic behaviour of the produced pions in high-energy hadron–nucleus interactions. It has been observed that the multipion production process becomes less chaotic with an increasing average multiplicity of the final states. The study has further been extended to know the target excitation dependence of chaoticity of pions; a positive dependence is indicated by the data.